Last Segment of E-470 Receives Concrete Paving Award

The E-470 Public Highway Authority along with its contractor, MKK Constructors, recently received a quality award for best Portland Cement Concrete paving for its work on the ramps and Mainline Toll Plaza E on the highway's recently completed 12.5-mile segment.

The award, from the Colorado-Wyoming chapter of the American Concrete Pavement Association, was given for excellence on "urban arterial projects constructed in Colorado in 2002." ACPA evaluated entries based on quality control, test results and smoothness. This is the first time E-470 has received an award from ACPA.

Segment IV, the portion of the highway that extends from 120th Avenue to I-25 near 157th Avenue in Thornton, opened to drivers on Jan. 3 of this year.

Four Corners Power Project Moves Forward

Trans-Elect's New Transmission Development Co. recently announced that Houston-based Steag Power has stated its interest in building a generation facility that will produce up to 1500-mw of electricity in the Four Corners area. It also plans to move its power over the Navajo Transmission Project being jointly developed by Trans-Elect's NTD and the Navajo Nation's Dinè Power Authority. Steag has agreed to aggressively pursue customers and permits for its intended coal-fired generation.

The new generation project's announcement is a critical first step in efforts by Steag to secure commitments from customers to use the new capacity and transmission. Steag will take the lead in developing the generation project and seek additional partners.

Merrick Helping to Upgrade Railroad Bridges

The Union Pacific Railroad Co. has been working to upgrade its bridges across the United States in a program to improve safety on rail lines. Bridges are regularly evaluated for safety and hydraulic capacity. In addition, bridge foundations are evaluated for resistance to erosion and scour and their ability to withstand severe flood events.

Merrick & Co. has been assisting the UPRR with its bridge upgrade program since 1995. Merrick visits priority bridges throughout the central and western United States and conducts field surveys to determine bridge configurations, drainage basin conditions and stream profiles. The firm meets with local agencies to obtain information on their regulations and practices related to drainage and flood protection.

Merrick engineers then perform hydrology studies, hydraulic analyses and prepare recommendations for each bridge structure. Recommendations can include bridge replacement (larger or smaller, as needed to pass the flows), elevation modifications to increase the height of the opening, erosion protection measures and other modifications to increase the safety and flood capacity of the structure.

Merrick utilizes the latest state-of-the-art hydraulic software programs such as the Corps of Engineers' HEC-RAS software program to simulate and model the flood flows at each structure.
Merrick Project Manager Brian Poling, PE, said: "Using the sophisticated hydraulic modeling programs that are available in our industry allows our team to recommend efficient and appropriate structures at each location."

Since 1995, Merrick has surveyed, analyzed, and provided recommendations on more than 185 bridges across the United States.

Black & Veatch Adds UV Disinfection to California Water Treatment Facility

Black & Veatch - a leading global engineering, construction and consulting company - has announced that it is under contract with the Rialto-based West Valley Water District to provide pretreatment design in addition to design and implementation of what is believed to be the first application of ultraviolet light for potable water disinfection in Southern California. Black & Veatch is providing comprehensive design, regulatory validation and construction-related services for the expansion and upgrade of the Oliver P. Roemer Water Filtration Facility.

The plant expansion and addition of UV disinfection will increase treatment capacity of the Roemer WFF from 9.6 to 14.4 million gal. per day, enhance the district's ability to effectively treat a full range of blends from two surface sources of raw water, and yield treated water in compliance with all current and foreseeable future drinking water standards. The pretreatment facilities will include coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation along with associated chemical storage and feed facilities.

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